Former Springfield Falcon Dallas Eakins to coach Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton Oilers new head coach Dallas Eakins speaks during a news conference in Edmonton, Alberta, on Monday.Associated Press

Dallas Eakins, a retired defenseman who spent one of his 17 pro seasons with the Springfield Falcons, was named Monday as new coach of the National Hockey League’s Edmonton Oilers.

Eakins, 46, replaces the fired Ralph Krueger, becoming the team’s fourth head coach in the past five seasons. The Oilers have not made the playoffs since reaching the Stanley Cup finals in 2006.

Edmonton general manager Craig McTavish, a former Boston Bruins player and Edmonton head coach, tabbed Eakins for the job after being impressed by his work in four seasons as coach of the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies. Eakins’ Toronto club reached the Calder Cup finals in 2012.

Altogether, 23 of the NHL’s current head coaches served as head coaches in the AHL. Those include the coaches of the current Stanley Cup finalists – Claude Julien of the Boston Bruins, who coached at Hamilton of the AHL, and Joel Quenneville of the Chicago Blackhawks, who coached the Springfield Falcons.

Another NHL head coach, Westfield State graduate Peter Laviolette of the Philadelphia Flyers, coached Providence to its last Calder Cup championship in 1999.

Patrick Roy of Colorado, Darryl Sutter of Los Angeles, Peter DeBoer of New Jersey and Paul McLean of Ottawa are the NHL coaches who didn’t come up through the AHL. Three other NHL jobs are vacant – Vancouver, Dallas and the New York Rangers.

“Good for Dallas,” Falcons president and general manager Bruce Landon said of Eakins’ new job. “He played a little bit here, and I’ve heard really good things about him from his time with Toronto in our league.

“If you look at the number of NHL head coaches and assistants who started in the AHL, it’s quite impressive.”

Eakins played for the Falcons in 1996-97 in a defensive unit that also included current Springfield assistant Nolan Pratt. Those Falcons, coached by Kevin McCarthy, went 41-25-12-2 before losing in the semifinal round of the Calder Cup playoffs.

Altogether, Eakins played 12 seasons in the AHL and five in the International Hockey League. In the NHL, he played a total of 120 games.

“This isn’t about winning one game or winning one season,” Eakins told the Associated Press as his hiring was announced. “We want to be in the mix every year to win.”

Eakins takes over a roster that includes high draft picks Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Nail Yakupov, Jordan Eberle and Justin Schultz. His work with young players Jake Gardiner and Nazem Kadri in Toronto played a role in Edmonton’s decision, the Associated Press said.